Unboxing of new repro Alien Star Pinball Playfield

Pinball Shenanigans·video·10m 1s·analyzed·Dec 20, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.019

TL;DR

Mike Dus unboxes custom Alien Star repro playfield from Greg Walker after 2-year wait.

Summary

Mike Dus unboxes a custom reproduction Alien Star playfield made by Greg Walker over a 2-year period. The playfield is a high-quality reproduction with excellent insert work and clear coating. Mike discusses the origin story of acquiring his original Alien Star machine from Bruce Nightingale (Slam Tilt podcast) and notes that only a few people have brand new reproduction Alien Star playfields (Derek Thompson of YAGPIN and David Susa being the others known to him).

Key Claims

Greg Walker (in Ottawa) acquired John Great Witch's playfield and backglass manufacturing business
high confidence · Direct statement about business transaction; John Great Witch is in New Brunswick
Only three people known to have brand new reproduction Alien Star playfields: Mike Dus, Derek Thompson (YAGPIN), and David Susa
medium confidence · Mike's personal knowledge; Derek's was damaged at a tournament, David's acquired recently
Mike acquired his original Alien Star from Bruce Nightingale (Slam Tilt podcast) in exchange for a Catacomb machine, receiving also a Paragon
high confidence · Detailed personal anecdote with specific location (London, Ontario) and witnesses (Jeff Tiolus, Bruce Nightingale)
Alien Star was designed by John Triau and manufactured by Milestar Electronics in 1984
high confidence · Direct reading from playfield copyright/design credits
This is Mike Dus's first playfield swap across all machines he has owned
high confidence · Explicit statement during unboxing

Notable Quotes

“He was looking to maybe buy some pinball displays off me. And I asked him if he's still making playfields and back glasses and he said no. He sold his business to Greg Walker who is in Ottawa.”
Mike Dus @ ~1:00 — Documents the business transition in the playfield/backglass reproduction market
“It is two years in the making. We kind of briefly chatted about it once upon a time and uh he's Greg's like a oneman operation.”
Mike Dus @ ~1:30 — Explains timeline and capacity constraints of Greg Walker's operation
“I think the only people that I know that have a brand new reproduction Alien Star Playfield is Derek Thompson who runs Yagpin. And I actually played that. It was in the charity bank last year, but there was some issues with it and unfortunately it didn't survive the tournament.”
Mike Dus @ ~3:00 — Documents rarity of Alien Star repro playfields and durability concerns in tournament play
“Oh, feels like butter. Oh, yeah. I am Very pleased how this turned out. I mean, I said, Greg Walker is a one-man show, and uh to be able to pull this off is very impressive.”
Mike Dus @ ~9:00 — Assessment of playfield quality; praise for Greg Walker's solo craftsmanship
“This is my first Playfield swap out of all the machines I've owned. Never had a swap done or did a swap myself.”
Mike Dus @ ~10:30 — Documents milestone and indicates significant learning curve ahead

Entities

Mike DuspersonGreg WalkerpersonJohn Great WitchpersonDerek ThompsonpersonDavid SusapersonBruce NightingalepersonJeff TioluspersonDavis StillpersonJohn TriaupersonAlien Stargame

Signals

?
business_signal: John Great Witch's playfield/backglass manufacturing business acquired by Greg Walker in Ottawa, representing consolidation in niche reproduction market
high · Direct statement: 'He sold his business to Greg Walker who is in Ottawa'
?
event_signal: Slam Tilt podcast conducted live recording in restaurant during pinball machine trade transaction (London, Ontario), demonstrating podcast-community integration
high · Jeff Tiolus conducted podcast during lunch with Bruce Nightingale and Mike Dus after machine trade
$
market_signal: Reproduction Alien Star playfields are extremely rare with only three known individuals possessing new reproductions (Mike Dus, Derek Thompson, David Susa), indicating very limited production capacity
high · 'I think the only people that I know that have a brand new reproduction Alien Star Playfield is Derek Thompson...And David Susa'
?
community_signal: Consolidation of playfield reproduction craft: transition from distributed artisan model (John Great Witch) to single-operator model (Greg Walker)
high · Business acquisition and characterization of Greg Walker as 'one-man operation'
?
product_concern: Derek Thompson's reproduction Alien Star playfield at YAGPIN failed durability test during Charity Bank tournament, raising questions about playfield longevity in competitive settings
high · 'It was in the charity bank last year, but there was some issues with it and unfortunately it didn't survive the tournament'

Topics

Playfield reproduction and restorationprimaryPlayfield swap projects and techniquesprimaryAlien Star machine history and designprimaryPlayfield manufacturing business transitionssecondaryTournament durability and playfield reliabilitysecondaryCommunity trades and machine acquisitionsecondaryCraftsmanship quality assessmentmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— Mike expresses genuine excitement about the playfield quality, praises Greg Walker's craftsmanship, and is eager to begin the restoration project. No negative sentiment detected; even discussion of Derek Thompson's tournament damage is matter-of-fact rather than critical.

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

I think it's time to unbox this Alien Star Playfield. I am excited. We're just going to tear into this box. Just kidding. Okay, here we go. I'm [music] Mike Dus and this is Pinball Shenanigans. [music] Okay, I just so happened to be chatting with a fellow today by the name of John Great Witch. You may or may not know of him, but I think he's been around the pinball industry a long time. And he used to make playfields and back glasses. I had a catacomb backlass that came with the catacomb that I got from Davis Still many years ago. And uh no one else was making them. So the fact that John was making them was awesome because otherwise it would not exist. [laughter] So yeah, just kind of chatting away with him today randomly. He was looking to maybe buy some pinball displays off me. And I asked him if he's still making playfields and back glasses and he said no. He sold his business to Greg Walker who is in Ottawa. John Great Witch is in um New Brunswick I believe. So then I got thinking, well I mentioned to him that um well I actually just bought something from Greg Walker. It is two years in the making. We kind of briefly chatted about it once upon a time and uh he's Greg's like a oneman operation. So I knew when he said that he would make a playfield for me that might take some time. And then here it is 2 years later. I haven't even unboxed it yet. Greg managed to get this Playfield from Ottawa. He gave it to his buddy. His buddy brought it to Toronto, dropped it off at Mike Hanley's in Toronto and then on the way to Maple Pinball at the Ontario Open in that was when was that? November. Like a month ago. We stopped at my Canley's, picked up the playfield, and got it home. So, here it is. And I've had it for like a month, and I think it's time to unbox this Alien Star Playfield. I am excited. All right, got this laid out on my workbench here, and uh we're just going to tear into this box. Just kidding. Didn't have the blade out, but that was still a little bit dangerous. I had to still scuff the uh cardboard there, but I will sew very carefully. There's a lot of tape here. There's these guys and then these guys. So, actually, you know what? If I just do this, should be okay. So, thank you, Greg, for doing this for me. I think the only people that I know that have a brand new reproduction Alien Star Playfield is Derek Thompson who runs Yagpin. And I actually played that. It was in the charity bank last year, but there was some issues with it and unfortunately it didn't survive the tournament. And David Susa, he has an Alien Star Playfield that he got very recently. Actually, I think I was chatting with Dave and um he had mentioned that he got his Alien Star Playfield and that's when I reached out to Greg. It's like, "Hey, Alien Star Playfield, remember me?" It's like, well, I made two. Dave got one and you can have the other. So, good thing uh you know, timing was just right for that to happen. So, I need uh my other hand for this one moment. All right, I got the Playfield out of the box. It's definitely packaged well. And um so the whole story of how I even got my alien star is that Bruce Nightingale, this is dripping. Why is that dripping? I made it worse. Crap. Okay. Anyways, so Bruce Nightingale of Slam Tilt podcast was interested in um my catacomb. This is all coming full circle that I had. I had it I got it off Davis Still had my fun with it and um eventually I went to sell it. Bruce wanted it. So he drove from Rochester, New York to London, Ontario and he brought me some cash. He brought me a Paragon and he brought me an Alien Star. And this is precoid, I believe, when he was in town. Jeff Tiolus, Bruce, and I went to Swiss Chalet, very Canadian, uh, and had lunch there. And then TLS actually did a podcast with us in the restaurant after we were done lunch. And um yeah, check that out if you want. You can Google it. You'll find it pretty easily. So that's where I got my Alien Star from. And the Playfield is blown out, but I haven't looked at it in 6 years, maybe something like that. I stuck it in storage and now it's going to have to jump the queue. But obviously I've got other things in the queue. Working on this lost world. Next will be Alaska. But um without further ado, where's Ellie? She should be here monitoring the operations, making sure I don't screw up. Okay. Is this going to be the front side or the back side? Oo, it's the front side. Okay, here we go. That is a beautiful thing. Let's just comb over it. Oh, feels like butter. Oh, yeah. I am Very pleased how this turned out. I mean, I said, Greg Walker is a one-man show, and uh to be able to pull this off is very impressive. Look at these inserts. It's done so well. [snorts] And this is going to be my first Playfield swap out of all the machines I've owned. Never had a swap done or did a swap myself. How many Alien Stars were made? I forget now. What does this say? Copyright. 1984 Mylstar Electronics designed by John Triau. And can't read what that is, but uh yeah, have a look at this. I don't know how many layers of clear it's got on it. It is a beautiful thing. Tap, will you shut up? You're distracting. Let's have a look at the back side here. Looks pretty standard. I see some pre-drilled holes. No dimples though, right? So, going to have to just work around that, which is fine. I mean, beggars can't be choosers. pan out here so we can have a full look there. Just had my plumber change this recently. What is your problem? But yeah, there it is. Alien Star, brand new playfield. this um project will have to start sooner than later. But uh for now, I'm just going to wrap back up, store this so that uh you know, doesn't warp on me. Not going to lean it on an angle. You know what I mean? Don't do that. That's bad for your playfield. But there it is. Alien star. It's a beautiful thing.